


A Swing in the Woods

by Kairi_Ruka



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Camp Jupiter (Percy Jackson), Friendship, Gen, Not Beta Read, Pointless, Post-The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus), Pre-The Trials of Apollo, Randomness, Self-Indulgent, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27156145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kairi_Ruka/pseuds/Kairi_Ruka
Summary: Jacob had already sternly warned about monsters lurking inside the forest surrounding Camp Half-Blood by Chiron the centaur and some cabin councillors, so he'd brought his dagger out of precaution.What he found, instead, was a swing.
Relationships: Jacob & Terrel (Percy Jackson)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	A Swing in the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> All characters belong to Rick Riordan. This fic belongs to me, and I get zero profit from it.
> 
> Notes: Jacob is a son of Fortuna. Bobby and Terrel are unknown (I'm not sure yet)
> 
> Enjoy!

Jacob stepped out of the bus he and his friends had been travelling on, squinting at the harsh sunlight while his friend Terrel was running away from the bus with a nauseous gagging. 

He was a part of the fifth weekend exchange program between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. He would stay for one night and two days in his mother's Greek counterpart's cabin before they go back to New Rome. 

Instantly, he had entranced over the prospect of exploring the woods -- and whatever those Aphrodite's children (and Venus, too, he thought) said, it was not because of the dryads. Jacob had liked nature for a long time, although he couldn't exactly find a forest in New Rome. The closest thing it had were parks. 

Jacob had already sternly warned about monsters lurking inside the forest surrounding Camp Half-Blood by Chiron the centaur and some cabin councillors, so he'd brought his dagger out of precaution. But apparently, young demigods wandering around the woods weren't rare, because after the initial warnings, Chiron had let him go with only another reminder to be careful. 

He was half-expecting to meet those monsters they warned him about when he'd gotten deeper and deeper into the forest. 

What he found, instead, was a swing. 

He found it in a small clearing inside the forest, hanging from a thick, sturdy-looking branch of an old tree. The swing didn't look special in any way. It was just a traditional rope-and-plank swing -- but something about it felt inviting. Or maybe it was just the fact that he'd never play things like that for years, and his inner child was screaming to be released. 

He looked around, fiddling with the four leaf clover charm hung from his thin bracelet. Well, it was still early afternoon and he was alone -- no one would send a search party if he stayed for just a little bit more. Might as well, right? 

And so Jacob approached the swing with wary but curious steps. He gripped the rope and yanked it a little, testing the strength. The rope held nicely. He sat on the plank carefully, but the small creak it let out wasn't alarming. 

At first, he was still unsure about swinging himself like a child, so he just used his legs to push himself back and forth gently without even an inch of his feet leaving the forest ground. After a few push, he decided to fuck it and kicked at the ground a little harder, swinging himself backward harder than before. 

He managed two more full swings like that before the creaks from the tree branch above him were getting concerning to hear. He stopped and looked up. Luckily, (heh) the branch didn't look like it was going to snap, but maybe it was too risky to put his whole weight on it again. 

So he settled on his previous light back-and-forth. At least, until a familiar voice startled him from behind. 

"Hey, that looks fun!" Terrel said in lieu of a greeting as the girl jogged over to Jacob. "Are you the one who set this thing up?" 

Jacob chuckled. "Nah. It was already here when I got to it." 

Terrel nodded with a hum at his answer, then frowned when she realized Jacob wasn't using the swing to … well, swing. "Well, why aren't you swinging?" she demanded. 

"I was, but then the branch creaked and I'm not sure it can hold me if I swing again," he said in defense. 

The girl huffed. "Man, you're lame," she said, stepping closer and taking both ropes in her hands. "Here, let me show you how to properly have fun with this thing." 

"Wait, what are you doing?" Jacob asked, slightly alarmed when Terrel started to push the swing around using one of the ropes she was holding, still with Jacob on it. 

"Trust me," she said, "you'll love this." 

She turned him in a three-sixty degree, then again, again, and the fourth time. The pair of ropes right above Jacob's head twisted around each other. 

Realisation dawned. "Ooh, you're gonna-!" 

His words got cut off harshly when Terrel suddenly let go of the ropes and the swing spun like a miniature blender. It spun six times, the last one was a result of the momentum from the fifth one before the ropes reversed backwards in a jerky move. 

"-Wah," Jacob finished, breathless. Both his hands were gripping the ropes tightly as he stopped the residual movements of the swing with planting his feet on the ground. Despite that, he grinned widely. 

"So?" Terrel prompted, also grinning back at her friend. 

He pretended to mull over it. "Spin me one more time and I'll tell you," he offered. 

"Swing-hogger," Terrel scoffed while playfully trying to push Jacob off of the swing. "Get off, it's my turn now!" 

"Nah, finder's keeper. You said that the last time you stole my hot chocolate." 

"You sound like your mom's rival," the girl grunted. 

Jacob shot her a glare. "You did not just say that." 

"Hey, guys! What do you have the- by Somnus, is that a swing?" another voice approached them. Jacob and Terrel looked over to see Bobby walking towards them with a curious look. 

"First me, then Terrel, then you. Have any of us ever seen a swing before?" Jacob deadpanned. 

Bobby tilted his head. "Well, I mean, we can't just wander around to any playground in town and play as Legionnaires," he pointed out matter-of-factly. 

"Aw, that's sad," Terrel muttered. "You're making me sad, Bobby. Help me dislodge Jacob from the swing, please? He doesn't want to share." 

"Hey, as you said, finder's keep-"

"Sure," Bobby replied easily. "As long as you agree to push me when it's my turn." 

"More like 'spin' than 'push', but alright," Terrel agreed. Then both of them worked together trying to push Jacob off of the swing, but the eagle-bearer wasn't going to back down without a fight. The mock fight ended when Bobby knowingly jab his finger to Jacob's ribs and the boy squeaked in response, losing his balance as Terrel pushed him off. 

"Traitor. And this is just over a swing," the son of Fortuna grumbled while rubbing his tender side. 

"Hey, we practically lost our childhood in exchange for legion training. I think this little distraction isn't a bad thing," Bobby stated calmly. Jacob grimaced. 

"Well, don't let Lupa hear you." 

"I was just stating the fact." 

"Wheee!" their conversation got cut off when Terrel spun herself wildly like a haywire top and screamed in glee. She stopped abruptly and laughed. "That was fun! You wanna try, Bobby?" 

"Yeah, sure," the boy accepted the rope Terrel handed him as she stood up from the plank seat. 

Jacob shielded his eyes with a hand and squinted at the setting sun. "We have to go back to the camp quickly, though, unless we want to worry people," he said. 

Bobby, always with his nonchalant mannerism, was ready to get up from the swing even though Terrel hadn't yet to spin him like he asked. "It's okay. We can go back here tomorrow if we want-" 

But Terrel was quick to push him back down. "Oh, no, you must try this at least once before we go back," she said, already turning the swing and watching the ropes twist around each other. 

As she released it and Bobby spun around with a surprised but gleeful cheer, Jacob couldn't help but to, instinctively, thank her mother. She hadn't been helpful enough all this time aside from small, miniscule blessings to him here and there -- if even that. But, well, as he watched his friends having fun over a simple thing he'd accidentally found … he thought maybe small things didn't mean they were meaningless after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I spent a night writing about sideline characters that don't even get a physical description. Deal with it


End file.
